Sing for Me
by i'mwhippedforsiriusblack
Summary: What will happen when Ginny finds out the truth about Sirius Black? She now knows one of Harry's biggest secrets...can he learn to trust her?
1. Chapter 1

Okay, hello, all! I'm new here, and this is my first story, so please just stick to cOnStRuCtiVe cRiTiCiSm if you can. I don't really know what else to say...I started reading Harry Potter a year or so ago, and although I am biased towards Sirius and Hermione, Ginny has always been one of my favorite underrated characters. So here's the first chapter of a teeny little story for all H/G shippers. Oh, and I'm not British, if you didn't notice by the lack of good wording in the story. Also, there's a bit of language in here, but nothing that wasn't included in the original series, if I remember correctly.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series or any of its characters.**

Here we go then!

I, Ginny Weasley, was having a fairly decent day. It was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, which also meant that it was Halloween, which meant that there was going to be a feast later, with lots and lots of yummy food...I had just came back from lunch and my stomach was already rumbling. Don't judge me, I am a Weasley after all! And I am really skinny, not quite model thin, but still thin.

Anyway, yeah, I had just come back from lunch with...eight of my friends? Or ten? I've always been very popular, I guess. I've never tried to fit in or even make my hair look nice and get fancy clothes, make up, and jewelry (like I could even afford that!). I don't care enough about what people think of me to change my opinions - and I'm not afraid to voice them either.

As I was saying, I had just come back from lunch and I was going to my favorite place in all Hogsmeade. Well, it's not technically in Hogsmeade, it's more on the outskirts of the village. You see, most people's favorite place in Hogsmeade would be Zonko's, Honeydukes, or the Three Broomsticks. But mine? It's a cave on a cliff.

No, I'm not kidding. I like to go there to be alone, however cliché that sounds. And I can't believe that I'm writing this down, but I like singing as well, and I'm not half bad if I say so myself. I want to be a singer when I grow up (cliché, I know), I just need to work on composing my own songs. Nobody really knows about this hidden talent of mine except for Hermione, who caught me quietly singing and composing one night in the Astronomy Tower (don't bloody tell me this is cliché again, I get it)-it's really embarrassing for me and kind of a big secret.

The thing is, I've always been considered the baby girl of the family. All of my brothers are extremely overprotective, especially Charlie, Percy, and Ron. My whole life, I've been trying to make them see that I'm not their weak baby sister, that I'm independent and don't need them watching my every move. And since singing's sometimes thought of being a bit of a girly thing, I just don't want them to know that that's what I want to be, so I usually end up telling people that I want to be a quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies when I grow up. I love quidditch as well, for a while I considered actually being on that team-it would prove that I was strong and independent, and nothing beats the feeling of mounting a broom at midnight. But I just love singing too much. It's the one thing that really makes me happy and allows me to express my feelings through music, so the quidditch idea didn't last too long.

I arrived at the cave and looked up. _Now comes the fun part_, I thought. You see, it's a pretty tall cliff that I have to climb, at least tall for someone who doesn't have proper equipment. Mhmm. Twelve meters is kinda scary, but I've done it many times before. There is another way in through a path, but climbing is way more fun.

I love adrenaline.

I made it up without dying, feeling quite proud of myself. I sat down and began composing the best music ever known to man - and woman. After a few minutes, I looked up and saw three little big specks and one little small speck coming towards my cliff, so I shut up and climbed into a neat little corner on the side of the precipice where i could spy on them easily. Oh, and I changed my hair and clothes to the color of the rock. It's a neat little charm I learned in first year when i didn't want people to stare at my gingerness in all its freckled glory.

I realized that the specks were three teenagers and a huge, scruffy looking black dog.

_They look a bit familiar,_ I thought. _You know, the way they walk…all together..._

_Very familiar-_

_Oh. Crap. It's them._

_Oh._

_It just had to be them._

It was Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

_How am I gonna face Harry?_

_Oh well. I'll just have to deal with it._

_Is that their dog or-_

_Wait. Bloody hell, Hermione's actually observant, she's gonna realize I'm here if she looks my way._

_Crap. Crap. Crap._

_I did not sign up for this. Nope._

_Oh no, they're coming closer._

_They're a few meters away now._

_I'm actually terrified right now._

_Four meters away._

_Three meters away._

_…_

_They stopped because the dog decided to chase a caterpillar._

_…_

_Okay, they're walking again. I can resume my countdown._

_Two meters away._

_One meter away._

I let out a horrified squeak.

They were right next to me.

_Don't look at me, don't look at me, especially not you Hermione, don't look at me…_

_Bloody hell._

_Ha!_

They had just passed by me, just like that!

_Yippee!_

I heard them in the cave beside me, talking, and felt slightly pathetic for wanting to go parents always told me I was far too curious for my own good, especially my dad. I waited for a few minutes, really wanting to go in.

_You know what? That's what I'll do_, I decided.

_I'm going to go in now._

_I really am._

_To hell with what they'll think of me!_ I jumped down from the small step to the ground and lunged forward, ending up at the entrance of the cave.

"Hey," I said, breathless. All three heads turned to look at me.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'd like to start by saying that I am so so so sorry for not updating this in...more than a month?! I am so sorry guys - I've been really busy, and I know that this is a short chapter, but I promise I have it all planned out. Thank you so much for the likes and follows, and the review that one of you posted! I'd like to see more of those, you make me happy.**

**scrappy8: i appreciate it! you're my first reviewer, so thanks. and sorry if it was too cringy haha**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in here.**

_**NEW, REVISED VERSION OF CHAPTER ONE POSTED! It's shorter and easier to read, I hope! There's nothing new or different added to the story in that chapter, only a few corrections, so if you don't want to re-read it it's not necessary.**_

"Hey," I said, breathless. All three heads turned to look at me - the dog was probably behind them. All their faces looked alarmed.

"Ginny?" asked Ron incredulously. "What happened to your hair?"

"Huh?" My hands automatically reached up to my long hair. "What's wrong with-"

_Oh_, I realized. _It's still the color of a bland rock. Oops_.

I quickly muttered the counter-spell and looked back at them.

"Hi, Ginny," greeted Hermione, still looking anxious. "Um...why'd you change your hair?"

"Camouflage."

"Oh."

"So why are you three here? And since when do you have a dog?"

"Um, Ginny, this isn't really a good time…" Harry said nervously, walking to the entrance behind me to try to get me to leave.

"What?" I asked sharply, annoyed that they were hiding this from me.

"Ginny, stop being annoying and leave. We need to talk alone."

That, ladies and gentlemen, was my loving and caring brother.

"Oh, shut up Ron! You can't boss me around anymore! I'm not - ARRRGHHHH! WHAT IN MERLIN'S BLOODY NAME IS THAT?"

A huge, feathery head with wide eyes and a bright yellow beak had just popped out from behind them, scaring me to death. And of course I toppled right into Harry's arms. Because everything had been going so bloody well that day.

Blushing madly, I quickly mumbled a small "sorry" and quickly moved away from him, trying to ignore how good it felt to be in his arms. When I sneaked a glance at him, he, too, was wearing a Weasley-worthy-tomato-red blush. I tried picking up the little that was left of my dignity and straightened myself up.

I finally recognized the strange creature - it was a hippogriff. We had learned about them in Hagrid's class the week before. I went up to it and bowed, looking at it straight in the eyes the whole time. After that, I went to the side of the cave strategically very far away from Harry and sat down on a rock, sighing.

"Would you care to explain to me," I began diplomatically, "why on earth you three have a hippogriff hidden in a random cave in the outskirts of Hogsmeade?"

**Please, please, _please_ review? and feel free to ask any questions or make any corrections, I would really appreciate any of those. Love y'all! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, I made some revisions to both, but nothing that you have to go back and check unless you really want to. Again, short chapter, but I like these better because they keep me going on the story longer than ****lengthy**** chapters.**

**the8horcrux: Thank you so much for your review! I tried making all the chapters easier to read, and you are definitely right, I put a bunch of unnecessary details in there so I tried making it a bit better. Again, I don't mind criticism as long as you don't start picking every part of my writing apart. I really appreciate your honesty!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**Enjoy!**

"Er - Ginny, it _really_ isn't a good time…"

"I already heard you! Do you not trust me enough to just tell me?" I snapped, feeling my temper starting up. I looked at all three of them, as they fidgeted and shuffled their feet under my angry gaze. Hermione spoke up timidly.

"Ginny - of course we trust you. You _are_ Ron's sister after all."

"Yeah, well, it seems like that's all I am to you sometimes," I said shortly before standing up. "Have fun solving _this _problem."

_And I thought Hermione would be nice enough to stand up for me. Gah! Curse her and her infatuation with my brother, _I thought as I stomped towards the entrance. I could feel all my anger bubbling up inside me while I wished that one of them would chase after me, because maybe that would mean they at least cared a teeny, tiny bit about me.

Apparently, some wishes do come true. But this was a miracle. _Harry, _not Hermione, but _Harry_, of all people, called out my name and rushed up to me. I wanted to jump in joy as I saw the look of genuine concern on his face, but, as I do for most situations like these, I messed everything up. My pride kicked in suddenly, and I sighed in annoyance and eyed him warily.

"I get it, Harry, you don't want your best mate's little sister knowing all your secrets. I'll leave, you don't have to pretend you want me around."

With that, I made my way back to the rock wall, getting ready to climb and leaving Harry with no idea what to say. Quite suddenly, the black dog that I had seen earlier came running up to me, jumped all over me and started licking my face.

"ARGHHH! CAN A GIRL NOT MAKE A DRAMATIC EXIT IN PEACE?!" I shouted to the dog slobbering all over my face. It gave a loud bark and began tugging on the end of my scarf, trying to take me back to the cave. After a small tug-of-war game, I ended up being dragged on the floor with small scrapes all over my arms, kicking and screaming.

And where was Harry? Following us into the cave in hysterics, of course, laughing like an absolute idiot. The dog finally let me go and lay down on the ground, looking quite satisfied with itself.

"Thanks for the help," I muttered sourly to Harry as I sat up and Hermione rushed to inspect my small bruises.

"S-sorry, Ginny!" laughed Harry, trying to regain his composure and failing spectacularly. "You - you just looked really funny." I mock glared at him, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be mad at everyone and everything. The dog gave a laugh-like bark and I turned my glare towards it. As I looked right into its eyes, I felt a small spark of recognition before it all came rushing back to me. I gasped (again, dramatically).

"Snuffles?!" I asked incredulously.

**_Review!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**I know, I know! This is an all time low for me - only 409 words. Especially after my wonderful reviewer nicely commented on my chapters being too short. I'm sorry! The thing is, I was at a complete loss of how to write the scene where Sirius transforms. I was just thinking for a whole week with no idea how to put it down into words without sounding retarded or something. I'm pretty sure it still sounds stupid, but it's the best I could do. The next chapter will be better and updated more quickly, I promise. There's some really great Ginny scenes in there! Review response is at the bottom, not that you even have to scroll down anyway. Enjoy! And please don't flame me :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series.**

"Snuffles?!" I asked incredulously. Said dog barked happily. Hermione, Harry, and Ron's jaws all dropped. "Snuffles!" I exclaimed, happy to see him after so long. Snuffles resumed licking me all over but this time I laughed and started playing with him. After a series of awkward coughs and questioning glances, Ron asked carefully,

"Ginny, do you, er...know this - this - creature?" I snorted at his lameness.

"Yes! Since the summer before last year, my second year! He'd always come to the Burrow, probably looking for something, and I saw him when mum sent me out to do chores around the house! I remember he came so often I went into a routine of giving him some of the extra fruit I'd picked! And then I figured he needed a name, so I called him Snuffles! Aww, I missed you…" I cooed as the dog kept jumping around me.

Hermione looked like she was about to get a heart attack, and Harry and Ron looked no better - their eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets. Hermione sent Harry a meaningful glance and then started whispering in Ron's ear (he turned very pink), occasionally looking at me dubiously. They looked like they were planning something.

"Crazy, those two are, huh, Snuffles?" I asked, eyeing them as they conspired against me. I looked up at Harry. "Do you know what they're up to?"

"Er...no." He seemed to have regained his awkward composure.

"Hmm," I murmured, not convinced, and I went back to playing with the dog. "I wish you could talk, Snuffles. Maybe _you'd_ tell me what's going on." I glared at Harry, who fidgeted nervously. Snuffles gave another joyous bark and when I looked down at him, he _grinned_ at me.

He grinned. An actual grin. It's hard to describe, but when he did it I could've sworn that he understood everything I was saying. I don't know how long it lasted, but it seemed like he was sitting there staring at me for a full five minutes while I thought I was going crazy. Just as I was about to ask everyone if they were seeing him grinning too or if I was just hallucinating, Snuffles started changing.

I don't really know how to describe it, because it sounds so stupid, but I couldn't find any other word to say that my dear Snuffles grew and grew and grew and changed and stood up taller until I was looking into the grinning face of the notorious mass murderer, Sirius Black.

**the8horcrux: thank you! you make me happy, so sorry about the chapters :P (I also started reading some of your stories, they're really great! I'll review some of them later)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, minor plot hole in the last chapter pointed out to me by my only reviewer :(you followers have to start reviewing, though thanks for all the favorites :) - how does Ginny know the name Snuffles? Well, I added a bit to last chapter explaining it. In this story Ginny was the one who came up with his nickname (you know, since she chooses names like Pigwidgeon, why not?) and he kind of stuck with the pseudonym when he told the trio to call him that. Anyway, short chapter again, but I just had to post this one quickly. Reviews at the bottom. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET HIM AWAY, GET HIM AWAY! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SOMEBODY CURSE HIM!"

Note that during my insane screaming, I was somehow able to punch him in the stomach so he toppled over onto the ground, hit him with a sharp bat-bogey hex (my infamous specialty), and shoot him a stunner right in the chest. I was about to chain him up when I felt two strong arms holding me back and trying to get a hold of my wand.

"Go away, Ron!" I tried wriggling free of his grasp in vain. He finally grabbed my wand and I whipped around to glare at him. "Can't you see who he is? Why are you not doing anything?" I snapped, half-confused.

"Will you shut up for once, Ginny? You've done enough harm already!"

"I'll shut up when you tell me what's happening!" Ron acquired a haughty look.

"You're too young to understand." That was it for me. I tackled him to the ground, shouting out a stream of rather _colorful _language and finally getting my wand back. I turned around sharply and pointed it right at Black, ready to curse him, when…

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry yelled furiously.

"Wha-?"

"Ginny, he's innocent!" cried Hermione. She promptly rushed to Sirius' side and ended the hex and stunners I had shot him in my shock and fury. I let out a short breath and looked at Harry.

"I-Innocent?" He merely nodded. I shrunk back in guilt and humiliation.

_All I wanted to do was help…_

I was ready to curl up in a dark hole and die when I saw Sirius Black, Hermione fretting nervously next to him, staring at me curiously and panting slightly.

"I'm so sorry S-Mr. Black. I didn't know you were - I wasn't thinking straight…" I was suddenly at a loss for words. "Sorry," I repeated lamely, tugging at a piece of my red hair anxiously.

"No worries, Red," he said, smirking. "You're awfully strong, though...you remind me of someone I knew…" he smiled nostalgically. I was about to snap "_Don't call me Red!_" but I stopped myself just in time, figuring I deserved that and much more, so I sent him a nervous grin. Then I remembered how angry Harry had sounded as he disarmed me. I slowly turned around and looked up at him meekly.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have acted so rashly, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Ginny. That's the way I reacted at first. Just don't do it again."

"I won't, I promise," I said sincerely, smiling at him. He returned a small one of his own. I turned to Ron next, grinning sheepishly.

"I'm still mad at you for calling me a little kid, but I do have to say that I'm terribly sorry for those bruises, they don't suit you very well." It sounded like a joke, but I actually felt really bad about it, I hadn't hit my brother since I was a little kid and he had stuck a stick between the spokes of a little muggle bicycle that Dad had brought home and I was riding...the whole incident ended up in the bike flipping over and me getting a concussion and beating the hell out of Ron once I was feeling better, resulting in a harsh punishment from Mum...it truly was a mess.

But Ron grinned at me widely and put an arm around me affectionately. It's just a thing we have, we never outright apologize to each other, we just know when the other one is feeling guilty and accept the tacit apology. It must be because we're both the youngest and we've had to work together since we were little.

"We're fine, Gin. You've got a nasty right hook, though." I flashed him a mischievous grin and swatted his arm away.

**Did you like it? Review! Yes, please, ****_actually_**** review :D**

**the8horcrux: Oops...I forgot to add that part in. Hehe. Thanks for the review, you are amazing! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again people! I had no homework today so I thought I'd write up a new chapter. It's still pretty short, but they'll get longer, I swear. Review is at the bottom. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer;I own nothinG.**

"I really am sorry for everything, but can someone _please_ tell me what's going on?"

"Okay," Hermione spoke up. "You might want to sit down for this."

They told me everything - not only third year, but all of their Hogwarts years, and what was going on right then as well. The whole explanation must have lasted at least two hours, as it was already getting dark when they finished.

I felt horrible, too. I had always whined about not being included, not realizing that they just shared a really deep bond and didn't just share trivial gossip with each other, but serious news.

And then there was Harry. Throughout the whole story, I felt pity and frank admiration for the tired boy in front of me. If I was smitten with him before, my crush on him increased tenfold. _Crush_. The word just sounded so...so juvenile. I couldn't help but think I felt something deeper than that…

_Is it love?_

I shook my head to get rid of that thought. It was absolutely ridiculous. Love meant commitment. Love was...something else. It couldn't be like that with Harry. I mentally snorted at myself.

_Here I am, with this boy that barely spares me a second glance, who thinks of me as his __**best friend's little sister**__, and I'm thinking about _love_. _

_Yes, _I decided. _It's only a crush. Definitely a crush._

Establishing that thought firmly in my mind, I turned back to laugh at one of Sirius' jokes and continue the conversation. But the whole time, it felt like I was constantly squashing a tiny voice inside my head, because, now that I look back at that time of my life, I was madly in love with Harry Potter. And that - just how much I loved him - was exactly what terrified me the most.

"Sorry for making you explain everything," I told Hermione as the five of us walked out. Sirius had told us that we had better get going soon or we wouldn't arrive in time for dinner, and he was accompanying us down to the village in his dog form. Hermione smiled.

"Oh, no problem. At least now you know and I can talk about everything with a girl, not those thick-headed gits over there."

"Oi! I heard that, Hermione!" Ron protested.

"That's the point," Hermione giggled, and they walked off, bickering as always. I fell in step with Harry.

"When do you think they'll realize that they're madly in love with each other?" I laughed. He grinned widely and was about to respond when Sirius let out what sounded like a snort. We turned to look at him but he ignored this and trotted (A/N: ...do dogs even trot? Oof :) past us, seemingly chasing a small white butterfly. I shrugged and thought nothing more of it, turning back to Harry.

"Thank you for telling me everything after that, erm, incident." Harry chuckled.

"I don't mind. Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why were you alone at that cave? I mean, I thought you were fairly popular, not that you aren't, I was just wondering, uh…" he trailed off, probably afraid he had just asked something personal.

"Oh, I am very popular." Realizing how conceited that sounded, I hurried to add, "I mean, I've always been, not that I really try to _be_, you know? I suppose I've never been too concerned about my social status, but apparently people like me." I laughed. "I was just at lunch with ten people in my friend group, or whatever you call it, but...it's not the same as having a best friend or two."

"What do you mean?"

"When you have tons of friends you don't really share that close bond, like the one you, Ron and Hermione have. Everyday I sit with someone different, someone new, so I never really get to know them. That's why I was so intent on following you lot around during my first year. I wanted to be a part of your little group."

"Oh." Harry nodded. "Maybe, well, you could...well, you are welcome to join us whenever you want to, Ginny. Especially now there's no secrets between any of us." I smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Harry. You can trust me." And with that, we caught up with the rest, chatting amicably as our stomachs rumbled in anticipation for the Halloween feast later on. That night, I couldn't stop the small smile from creeping onto my face as I thought of that day's events.

**I hope you liked it. Now,****_ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE!_**

**the8horcrux: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it and I'll follow your advice for the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7 (not an update)

p style="text-align: center;"strongAuthor's Note:/strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Sorry for not updating in so long! I've been extremely busy because of school, and to be honest, I forgot this existed for a few weeks. I am so sorry! I'm working on the next chapter, and if there's anything you should know about me, it's that I never give up on something I've started, even if I'm inconsistent. So it's safe to say that I promise I won't give up on this story unless something truly major and life-changing happens, which I doubt it will. And if that ever happens - which I'm 99% sure it won't - anyone would be welcome to continue it. Anyway, I hope you are still willing to read this, especially my reviewer, and I'll have the next chapter in by next week. I love you all! /p  
p style="text-align: center;":)/p 


	8. Chapter 8

**Not too much of a plot, huh? I like seeing them all be friendly, though. The next one will keep the story going. I've also ran out of things to say. None of this belongs to me, as always. I love y'all.**

The sweet sleep didn't last long, however. After a particularly bad nightmare, I woke with a start, sweating all over and breathing heavily. I hate to admit it, but the Chamber of Secrets still haunted me, at least twice a week. It always started out the same, like it did in real life, but then sometimes I started having horrible hallucinations.

Grumbling to myself, I got off the bed and threw on an old Chudley Cannons shirt over my head while I quietly grabbing a blanket. Last time, I had woken up Hermione for fun, and believe me, it was not a pleasant encounter. I hadn't known she could be so _violent_. I have a few scars to prove it.

Shuddering at the thought of a sleep-deprived Hermione, I swiftly walked out of the room and into the commons. Sliding down the banister of the swirling staircase, I landed soundlessly at the bottom and made my way to my favorite comfy armchair near the fire. After a while my eyes grew heavy with exhaustion and I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

...

I woke up to the sound of amiable laughter. I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was blurry and the sunlight from the window was hitting me right in the face. Groaning and rubbing my eyes, I straightened and squinted as my vision cleared.

The common room was empty apart from Harry and Hermione who were sitting right in front of me, Hermione giving him what seemed like a long lecture while waving a piece of parchment in his face. He was staring off into space, unpreoccupied. I stared at him a little bit until our eyes met. We grinned at each other, and Hermione followed Harry's gaze and noticed I was awake.

"Hello, Ginny. You've been asleep for a while, why aren't you in your bed?"

"I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wake you up again," I said, raising my eyebrows. Hermione blushed and mumbled something under her breath. I noticed Harry looking at me strangely, but brushed it off after a moment.

"What time is it? Where's Ron?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's six a.m. He's still sleeping. I'll go wake him up for breakfast since Harry's too lazy to fix this mess of an essay anyway." Huffing, she left the paper on the table and stomped her way up the stairs.

"Six! This should be illegal, making us go to breakfast at such an ungodly hour in the morning! No, it's not even morning, it's still dawn!" I groaned, burrowing deeper into the mass of blankets covering me. Harry chuckled.

"You sound like Ron." I looked at him, horrified, and was about to respond before I realized I was still in my bright orange shirt.

_Ugh, I must look like a mess. Harry's probably judging me so much - wait, since when do I care what he thinks? I'm a strong, independent woman! Yeah! Harry Potter can go ride a hippogriff to hell for all I care! I don't need him! I'm so evil! MUAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAA! _

I looked up and saw Harry staring at me, looking completely confused and rather terrified.

_Oh, damn. Did I just-_

_Yeah. I did. Crap._

"Erm, Harry?"

"...yes?"

"What did I just do?"

"Er...you were mumbling to yourself and then began laughing maniacally…" I could literally feel my cheeks heating up. I probably looked like an unattractive tomato. Can tomatoes even be attractive? Huh. I'll have to think about that later. Anyways, back to the story.

"Oh. S-sorry," I stuttered lamely. "Um...I need to go change, so…I-I'll be going now." I sprinted up to my dorm, my cheeks still flaming and my hair wild.

I shoved on my school robes, brushed my teeth, not caring about the speck of toothpaste left on my chin, and quickly semi-tamed my messy hair into two frizzy braids. I don't put a lot of effort into my appearance, if you haven't noticed. I rushed back down the stairs, where a seemingly recovered Harry was waiting for me along with a grumbling Ron and a chirpy Hermione. Harry looked mildly surprised.

"Barely even two minutes," he said, glancing at the flimsy watch on his wrist. Ron laughed.

"Well, look at her, she has toothpaste all over her face!" I rolled my eyes and wiped it off with my sleeve.

"Let's go, I'm starving!" I exclaimed, tugging Hermione with me by the arm. She smirked and muttered something about Weasleys that I pretended not to hear, instead listening to my grumbling stomach, all thoughts of sleep long gone.

…

"Oh, Merlin, this is so good!" I repeated for what probably was the hundredth time as I bit into my seventh delicious, marmalade-covered toast. "I never want to be full again!"

This particular habit of mine often leaves people at a loss for how to react. I've always voiced my love for good food, perhaps a tad too much. It's quite amusing to see my mum unsure of what to do - thank me for my barrage of compliments or admonish me for my overconsumption. Not that I'm fat or anything. I do a lot of quidditch.

"Mmmm...tasty…scrumptious!" I mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. Hermione was trying to acquire a haughty, disapproving look while attempting not to laugh out loud. Ron was used to me, and snickered openly with Harry every time I'd say something silly.

"Does she always do this?" Idiot #2 (Harry, of course, he is _my_ idiot) said.

"Every meal," affirmed Idiot #2 (Ron, who else? I would love to call Hermione an idiot, but she _is _a genius and I would rather not be hexed into oblivion, thank you very much). "Drives mum nuts. Mental, this one is." He gestured loosely to me, but the tasty sausages were taking up all my concentration so that I couldn't come up with one single witty retort to humiliate my brother. So guess what I did?

I kept eating.

**Can tomatoes be attractive? Huh. hUh. Believe, me, I'll stay up all night thinking about that and mess up all my exams tomorrow. the8horcrux: Yeah I get that most people won't review. I just wish more people were as nice as you are! Thanks for everything, and make sure to tell me about any mistakes in my writing or simply if it's just boring. I won't get offended! :)**

**sbz93: Thanks for the feedback! i really appreciate it :D**

**...do you think tomatoes can be attractive?**


	9. Chapter 9

_So this is what having friends is like_.

_I sound pathetic, don't I? Well, what I mean is having friends, not followers. The past few weeks have been great. I've grown closer to Harry, Hermione, and Ron! Yes, even my brother turned out to be something other than a speaking, tactless, blob with two brain cells! He's actually quite all right. Still annoying sometimes, but pretty nice. Hermione's also more than just a bookworm - she can actually be funny when she isn't lecturing us. And as for Harry, he is the sweetest, cutest, most annoying and ridiculous and endearing idiot on this earth. I know he'll never notice that I have a huge crush on him because he's too oblivious, but I think I'm happy enough to be his close friend. It really does feel like there's not a worry in the world...I could just skip all the way to the Great Hall! _

"Oof!" I groaned as I bumped into something big and black. I looked up and saw the scowling face of Snape looking down at me.

_Crap_.

I never really knew how to feel about Snape during my Hogwarts years. I really liked Potions...and he was a good teacher. Too pedantic, but if you managed to tune out all the insults you could really understand what he was explaining. He had a passion for his subject that you couldn't find in any professor. He could be a right git of course, especially when he was insulting my friends, but he never really directed any of his snappish criticism towards me. Surprising, huh?

I suppose you could say I gained his begrudging respect in a way. I still remember that day. It was my first Potions lesson, and I was stumbling into the classroom with the mass of frightened first years. I was a tiny little girl, of course, not tall enough to reach Snape's desk and skinny as a stick. I tripped on my way to my seat. If the rest of the students looked scared, I looked like I was about to throw up. My skin was even paler than usual - and that's saying a lot - as I sat down tremulously.

He began the lesson, pacing around the classroom while hurling every reason why we weren't worthy of being in his presence and wasting his precious time at us. Every time he passed by me I visibly cringed. I don't even know why I was so scared. He eventually got tired of this and slowly walked up to my desk. I looked up at his looming, formidable figure, terrified as he looked at me in disgust.

"Are you..._scared_ of me, Miss Weasley?" The Slytherins erupted into laughter. I heard dubious comments about me being sorted into Gryffindor. This, of course, fired me up, and I regained my composure, glaring at Snape openly, all signs of nerves gone.

"No, I'm not. Should I be?"

The whole class went quiet and I saw a small flicker of surprise flash across his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to snap at me again but decided against it and simply scowled at me again before turning around sharply and uttering,

"Read the instructions on the board and get your ingredients from the shelves." I was the only one who stood up, as the rest were busy staring open-mouthed at me. He ignored me and glared at everyone from his desk. "Well? What are you waiting for?" This triggered a reaction in my classmates and there was an immediate bustle to get to the ingredients.

From then on, although he didn't ever favor me or even acknowledge my presence, Snape never directed a single insult towards me. One day, I overheard him talking to McGonagall.

"Pity that she's a Weasley in Gryffindor. All that talent gone to waste."

Not knowing if to be touched or offended by his sardonic ways, I eventually shrugged it off and kept working hard in Potions. I guess I respected him as well, in a way just as cold and reserved as his. Anyways, back to the story.

"If you don't plan on staying here all day, Miss Weasley, I ask that you leave for dinner." He sneered and walked away with a swish of his robes.

_Hmm. Not _too _bad. _

I picked my books up and hurried to the Great Hall, where I spotted my new friends and walked over to them. Hermione was holding a copy of the _Daily Prophet_, with Harry in front of her and Ron beside her. They were huddled in a small circle, whispering conspiratorially.

_Typical Golden Trio_…

"Hey!" I exclaimed, throwing my bag on the table and plunking myself down next to Harry. They all jumped and tried to look innocent.

"Hi, Ginny," Hermione replied, folding the newspaper and shoving it down her pocket quickly. I frowned.

"What's going on?"

"N-nothing…" I raised one eyebrow. Harry could really be a bit daft sometimes.

"Nothing to worry about!" Hermione laughed lightly at her nonexistent joke, trying (and utterly failing) to lighten the mood. Ron rolled his eyes at her and tried to make me forget about the whole thing with some food. I'm not going to lie, it almost worked…

"No thanks. Will someone actually tell me what's wrong? And don't tell me it's nothing!"

"But it is! Lighten up, Ginny."

"No, Ron! You three told me all your secrets already! I know everything that's happened!"

"So?"

"Well...don't you trust me?"

"Of course we do," Harry cut in.

"Then why are you hiding this from me?"

"We aren't hiding-"

"Don't lie to my face, Hermione! Merlin, all of you are easier to read than a book!" Hermione blushed and had the grace to look ashamed.

"I'm sorry." I looked away from her big, sad eyes that can make anyone melt instantly and glared at my plate instead. It was silent for a few minutes as I fumed and picked at my cold chicken. I looked up at them after a while.

"So you're not going to tell me then?" I demanded. They all stared at me blankly.

"What, you thought I'd forget?" I laughed bitterly and stood up, determined to make a successful dramatic exit this time. "Apparently I'm still the innocent, eleven-year old, right? Little blushing Ginny Weasley, an innocent princess waiting to be rescued by the oh-so-noble Harry Potter. Well, you're wrong. I've changed, and I can handle whatever you're so intent on hiding from me. But you don't have to tell me anymore. Now I know what you think of me, so we can stop this whole act we're putting on." I said the last part directly to Harry and snatched my book bag from the table, rushing out of the Hall.

_Apparently, making a dramatic exit for that scenario wasn't that hard_, I thought as I blinked back unshed tears on my way to the Astronomy Tower. _Maybe it's because I meant everything I said._


	10. Chapter 10

**_I"m sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_****_I haven't updated in more than a month, I know. I was extremely busy with schoolwork and was at a loss of what to do with this story, so I kinda grew apart from it. But I had a great idea a few days ago, so I started back up on it. Even then, I was writing really slow, until I realized I had gotten reviews and favorites and follows from a lot of you! Although I write mostly for my own pleasure, not for the popularity of the story, I love you all much more than you think and your support really makes me smile and want to keep writing. So thank you for making me hurry up on this, guys! I tried to make it a little longer, I hope it's not too bad. Love you!_**

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

_Why did I ever think they'd actually consider me part of their little group?_

_But I did overreact a little, they probably had a reason for not telling me. _

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

_But why? I thought there weren't any secrets among us or whatever crap we ended with a few weeks ago._

_Stupid, stupid, double stupid._

_Either way, it all leads back up to me being stupid. Naive. I either overreacted and made a complete fool of myself, probably losing three perfectly good friends in the process, or I was dumb enough to think I could actually be a part of the group my older brother was in. _

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

I kicked a pebble as I trudged down the path to the Quidditch pitch, with a broom in hand and angry thoughts swirling around in my mind. I only succeeded in kicking the pebble back up into my face. My eye, to be exact.

_Ouch…_

_I guess I deserved that. I have a confession to make...right after my dramatic exit, in a fit of anger, I ran right up to Harry's dormitory and snatched his Firebolt. _

_...childish, I know. My mum would be furious if she knew, and so would Harry...but it's not like I stole it, I'm just going out for a quick fly and I'll put it right back. And I'll be careful._

My watery eye only put me in a worse mood, so I decided not to wait and flew right over to the pitch. I couldn't sing right then, not with the huge, offensive lump in my throat. So I flew.

It was so refreshing, flying around, whooping as I tried wild moves without a care in the world. The wind whistled in my ears, tossing my already messy hair around, as I felt the smooth ride of the Firebolt- it was impossibly quick, and I felt truly free. Up in the air, I could forget about Harry, Ron, and Hermione, about Voldemort, about the Chamber, about school, about my own stupidity...at least for a while. I was dashing past the hoops, catching my own quaffle, when I had a brilliant idea.

Well, a brilliant one or an insane one. Probably on the brink of insanity, if I'm going to be honest with myself.

_What if I try to do three Wronski Feints in a row? Obviously without another seeker. I could just sweep down an inch from the ground, shoot straight back up...ooohhhh, I could try to go through the hoops! And repeat it, and…I'm going insane, not even a professional Quidditch player could do that, right…?_

_But what if I tried?_

I repositioned myself on my broom, a sly grin forming on my face. I went up and prepared for the vertical dive…

WHOOOOOSHHH! I shot straight down in a flurry, feeling like I was about to land face-first on the ground, and, an inch from the ground, tilted the end of the Firebolt directly up and swerved through the three goals, only to repeat myself two more times...and I did it.

I didn't die!

I know, right?! I bet I would've been hired right then and there for the Harpies if the captain had been watching.

I whooped and yelled as I flew in insane loops across the pitch, laughing loudly. I felt like I was truly free. A soft drizzle was starting to form and it just made me happier.

Until I heard slow clapping from below me. I froze and swerved my head towards the ground, only to find Harry there with a sloppy grin on his face. I floated down to him and then...I did the unspeakable.

I really don't want to write this down, it's quite humiliating and I would rather completely erase the incident from my mind. But I suppose I have to do this…

I sauntered up to him, dead serious, and offered him my hand.

"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley. What's your name?"

No, I'm not joking.

...I know. It took me a while to process the words that had just come out of my mouth until I started sputtering a few moments later.

"Erm...I meant...y-you know, just...h-hi?"

My face was getting redder by the minute as a slow smirk began spreading on Harry's face. And he burst out laughing. I frowned and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Shut up, I still haven't forgiven you!"

"Mighty words from the girl who just stole my prized Firebolt and did three extremely dangerous but also wicked awesome Wronski Feints in a row," he said after he regained his composure. I blushed and handed him his broom back timidly.

"Sorry...I was planning on giving it back as soon as you stopped being a git." He rolled his eyes.

"Gin, you know you can ask whenever you want. But seriously...I bet even Viktor Krum would have some trouble doing those moves, or any professional player for that matter. Since when did you become so good at quidditch?" I smiled.

"Thanks. I used to steal Fred and George's brooms from the family shed and go out for a fly every night since I was...what, five? I've always loved the sport, but my family won't even let me go near the pitch. They- and by they I mean my mum- say it's too dangerous and _unladylike_." I snorted. "And my git brothers think I can't even handle a broom."

"You should try out for the team. No, you should try out for the Harpies."

"For the Gryffindor team, convince mum to let me and I might as well," I laughed. "And I thought about the second one. But then I realized that if I practiced quidditch every day professionally, it would probably lose its...charm or whatever. That feeling you get up in the air, like nothing can stop you, even if you're absolutely drenched or exhausted, it just makes you feel…"

"Free."

"Exactly." We shared a smile. "I don't want to forget that feeling, and I think that might happen if it were to start becoming more of a routine than a game to actually enjoy." The rain had started coming down harder by then.

"So what _do _you want to be? Do you have any more hidden talents?" Harry asked after a slight pause.

"Singing." I regretted the words the moment they came out of my mouth. I laughed awkwardly. "I didn't mean singing, I meant...I- I meant…" A wide grin was spreading on Harry's face.

"You can sing?" I sighed.

"Yeah...I guess. Please don't tell anyone though, only Hermione knows."

"Okay. Can you sing right now?"

"Right now? No!"

"Why not?"

"Only an exclusive few get to hear me sing."

"Oh, yeah? Well, who are those exclusive few?"

"No one yet." I grinned. "You have to prove that you're worthy of hearing my amazing voice." He chuckled.

"C'mon, sing for me?"

"Nope!"

"Not even a little."

"No."

"Please?" He asked hopefully. I shook my head.

"Fine. One day, you'll sing for me- I guarantee that."

"Well, we'll have to wait and see, won't we?" I asked. Harry smiled but fidgeted.

"Ginny, I'm really sorry for what happened earlier. I honestly wanted to tell you but Hermione and Ron thought you wouldn't be able to handle reading the article because- because of the incident in your first year and all."

"I can handle it. What was it about?"

"A little girl with magical powers had been possessed by an 'unknown force' and...well, killed her own muggle family with her powers forced upon her."

"Oh…so they basically exploited her innate magic without her knowing and…"

"Yeah."

"Well...I suppose I should be happy things never got that far for me."

"You were strong, Gin. Anyone else would have completely fallen but you...you kept going. That's the important thing."

"Thanks." I smiled. "And-and for telling me and all. I know I kind of overreacted as well. Anyway, are you up for a match of Quidditch?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"It's nearly pouring."

"What, the great Harry Potter can't handle a bit of rain?" He laughed.

"I was just trying to save you from an epic failure. I could beat you anytime."

"Keep telling yourself that." Beaming, I mounted my broom once again, already soaked, and shot up into the air with Harry, both of us laughing as if it were our first time ever on a broom.

…

"I was about to beat you in that last game until you hit that bludger at me."

"I didn't hit the bludger at you, just near you. As a distraction."

"Yeah right," Harry muttered. We were walking- well, limping- back to the castle together, more injured than not. At one point in the game, I was too busy laughing to notice that I was flying straight into the Ravenclaw flagpole. Harry took one look at my bruised face and nearly fell off his broom. It was quite funny, although I can't imagine what Hermione will do when she sees what state both of us are in. I really don't want to think about that.

"Anyway, that was fun," I remarked.

"One of the best matches I've played in a while," Harry nodded in agreement. We smiled and said nothing else for the rest of the way back. We finally reached the portrait hole, where the Fat Lady simply raised an eyebrow at us and swung open. I sighed happily as the heat from the warm fire covered my shivering self, when…

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! HARRY JAMES POTTER! WHERE IN MERLIN'S NAME WERE YOU TWO?!" We shuddered simultaneously and turned to face a bristling Hermione. She jumped at the sight of our bruised faces and rushed to our sides immediately.

"What happened?! Did you go into the Forbidden Forest for fun or something? I wouldn't be surprised, putting you two together is basically a recipe for disaster, and-"

"'Mione, calm down!" Harry swatted her hand away from his face. "We're fine!" Hermione frowned.

"Well, then explain."

"We were playing quidditch," I spoke up. Harry gave me a look that clearly said, "_You shouldn't have told her that." _I shrugged, ignoring the almighty screech that Hermione gave.

"Quidditch? Ginny can't even fly!" Ron, who had stood up from his favorite armchair, butted in.

"Yes, she can," said Harry calmly. I smirked at Ron, who frowned confusedly.

"But she's never even been near a broom-"

"Are we seriously debating Ginny's ability to fly on a stick in a stupid game? Look at the state of your best friend and sister, Ronald!" All three of us gasped at Hermione's insult.

"QUIDDITCH IS NOT JUST A GAME, HERMIONE!" we all bellowed. Our indignant shouting was met with applause and cries from everyone else in the common room. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed both our wrists, pulling us back towards the portrait hole.

"You're all delusional. I'm taking you two to the Hospital Wing, how did you even manage to do that to your faces?" I released my wrist from her grip.

"Hold up, 'Mione. I am NOT going to the Hospital Wing."

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not! You know how much everyone hates it there. Madam Pomfrey will make an even bigger deal of this than you are!"

"Stop being stubborn!"

"Stop making me!" I said, feet planted firmly to the ground. Hermione accepted defeat.

"Fine. Have it your way. Be childish. I'll bring healing potions and salves here for you and Harry. But you better stay here until I come back, or I promise I'll-" The rest of her threat died as the portrait closed behind her. Ron, Harry and I sighed in relief and plopped back down on the large sofa.

"That was close," Harry remarked. Ron nodded.

"She really believed that quidditch excuse then," he said.

"I can play quidditch!"

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can!"

"Guys, stop. Let's talk about something else right now, I don't want another argument."

"Fine." Ron and I crossed our arms, glaring at each other sulkily. Ron looked away towards Harry.

"You got a date for the Yule Ball yet, mate?"

"No," Harry muttered in response. "I asked Cho, but she's already going with Cedric Diggory."

I didn't know whether to be happy that he didn't have a date or disappointed that he was still stuck on Cho.

_It's not as if he'd ever ask me anyway,_ I laughed bitterly at my illusions.

"Ginny?"

"Huh, what?" I looked up at Ron. "What did you say? Sorry, I was thinking." Ron smirked.

"Has any poor bloke asked you yet?" I glared at him once more.

"Three, actually," I said defiantly. I wasn't lying.

"What?! Who? Did you say yes?" Ron cried. Harry looked up, curious.

"Yes, Ron, I'm definitely going to the Yule Ball with three different people," I answered sarcastically, sighing. "No, I rejected all of them. The first one was a seventh year. I accepted at first, solely because I actually wanted to go to the Ball since I'm only a fourth year. Then I realized he was just trying to find some girl to make his girlfriend jealous, so I ditched him and told the girl to find someone actually worth her time. Then, Neville Longbottom asked me- stop laughing, Ron, at least he had the guts to ask someone, unlike you- but I knew that he had been wanting to ask Luna Lovegood, so I told him not to waste his time on me and go find her instead, since she was probably going to say yes. And then Michael Corner asked me. He's part of the Ravenclaw quidditch team, if you didn't know. I said yes and we even went on a small date, which I suppose was a little fun while it lasted, but I didn't really like him that much. And then I saw him bullying a few first years, so I dumped him. Well, not before hexing him." At the end of my thorough explanation, both Harry and Ron were looking at me, mouths wide open.

"When did this all happen and why did I never notice?" asked Ron, whose ears had turned the color of a tomato. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not _that _pathetic, Ronniekins."

"So you had three whole chances to go and you ended up rejecting all of them?"

"Yep. I have high standards, I guess." I shrugged. They exchanged a bewildered glance and sat back. "What about you, Ron?"

"I asked Padma Patil. She accepted." Ron shrugged, not looking very excited about the matter.

"Oh, I've heard she's very pretty and nice, and not as much into gossip as her sister. And she's in Ravenclaw, right?" I asked. Ron nodded. We all stayed silent for a moment. I was twiddling my thumbs and wondering when Hermione was going to show up when Ron spoke up.

"Wait," he exclaimed, sitting up. Harry and I looked at him expectantly. "What if- what if you two go together?"

"What?!" Harry and I looked at each other, confused. Ron cackled as if he'd just voiced the best idea ever.

"Well, you get along, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but…" Harry trailed off.

"Ginny? Is Harry one of the few worth your time, unlike those poor blokes you hexed?" Surprisingly, I wasn't blushing this time. It felt natural to go with Harry to the Ball- after all, we were good friends.

"I didn't hex all of them! And I suppose he could be decent…" I smirked at Harry. "Actually, Harry, if you don't mind, I'm in. That way I can go and you won't embarrass yourself without a date…" I realized that I was basically asking Harry to the ball and shut up.

_Way to go, Ginny._

But to my surprise, Harry didn't seem to mind.

"So you want to go as friends, then?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure!" I said. Ron laughed gleefully.

"That worked out. I think 'Mione's coming though. I'm off." He raced off the couch to hide from Hermione's wrath up in his bed. I turned back towards Harry, who looked a bit uncomfortable.

"That was strange." He scratched his neck.

"Yes…"

"What was strange?" Hermione joined in. She was holding a few painful-looking bottles with a severe look on her face.

"Nothing. Guess what, Harry and I are going to the Yule Ball as friends!" Hermione's face broke into a huge smile like I had predicted it would.

"That's great, guys! Just don't mess things up this time, Harry." He huffed as I laughed.

"What potions do I need? I really want to go to sleep, 'Mione," I said with my best puppy eyes. She shoved four in my direction.

"The instructions are on there, just put them on and you can go to bed." I thanked her and said good night to both of them, walking up to the dormitory I shared with Demelza Robins, Ashley and Marissa Lance, and Sarah Finnigan- Seamus Finnigan's younger sister. She and Demelza were all right, I suppose, but the nicest thing I could say for the other two was that their personalities resembled Lavender Brown's and Parvati Patil's.

I sat on my bed and uncapped the bottles, spreading them on my bruises like it instructed to do on the containers. I looked at the half-empty bottles on my bed and decided to go back to give them to Hermione. I was trudging down the stairs when I heard Harry's voice.

"-Hogsmeade day next weekend. If Ginny doesn't like her robes, buy her some with this. I've seen Ron's, I don't want Ginny feeling uncomfortable in hers…" I peeked through the spiraling stairs and saw Harry giving Hermione a sack full to the brim with galleons. Hermione beamed and gave him a quick hug, looking quite proud for some reason. Touched, I clutched the potions and went back to my room.

_I really owe Ron this time, _I grinned to myself.

**Too much fluff? Sorry...also, can you tell I barely know anything about quidditch? So sorry to all you fans out there...Hope you liked it! :D**

** : you're welcome! thanks for the nice message :)**

**dutchie: ahaha tysm I didn't even know i had one!**

**the8horcrux: you're fine, thanks for keeping up with my crappy story! :P**

**Thanks for all you amazing people who followed/favorited me or the story! You really make my day! **


	11. Chapter 11 (not an update)

Hi! I know, it's been more than a month, maybe even two. The thing is, I've had absolutely no inspiration for this story. I know I said I won't give up on it, and I won't, at least if you guys still want me to keep going. So basically, I'm asking the few who've read this if you want me to keep going. If you do, I will keep writing. If not, I started another one that I swear will be less cringy and horrible, and I guess I'll incorporate some of the more decent scenes and plot ideas of this story into the other. I know that not many people have read this but if you have, please just share your opinion on it one last time! All the support you've given me makes me happy- even if only one person likes my work, it's fine! So thank you so much, and if nobody answers for a while, I'll discontinue this story, and anybody will be free to continue it, just make sure to tell me first. I love you guys!


	12. Chapter 12 (not an update)

**Hi guys! It's been a while, I'm so horrible at this! So a few of you have either asked me to keep going or that you want me to keep going but I don't have to just for you. Well, I won't be able to discontinue this without feeling guilty, so I'll keep writing but make it shorter while wrapping it up nicely. I don't dread writing or anything, I'm just out of ideas so if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me and I promise I'll update by this time next week. I love you all, thank you for keeping up with this! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Guys, I'm here! This is ****_actually_**** an update! Are you proud? I'll update again soon, this time I PROMISE.**

"How much longer?" I whined, flinching as Hermione fretted around me, trying to apply some sort of goop onto my eyelashes.

"I'll never finish if you don't keep your eyes shut," she snapped. I pictured her rolling her eyes.

It was finally the night of the Yule Ball, and Hermione and I were supposed to meet our dates in commons in ten minutes. Hermione was busy adding what she called "finishing touches" to my face (I didn't know I needed so much _fixing_) after two hours of work on my hair, outfit, and makeup. She'd only take one hour on hers, but I kept fidgeting so she was having a hard time with me.

"I don't understand, 'Mione. Wasn't the mascara thing one of the first things you smeared on my face? What's this goop that you're using now?" I pouted.

"It's not mascara, it's just made so- ugh, never mind. Give me five more minutes and I'll be done."

"Okay." I sighed. "So, Viktor Krum, huh? You nervous?"

"A bit. What if this dress is too...ruffly?"

"You look great, don't worry."

"Thanks, Ginny. You will too once I finish."

I stopped moving around for her sake and she finished after two minutes.

"Okay, you're ready." I opened my eyes gladly and jumped up. I looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, I didn't look half bad.

"Not too bad," I teased her, giving her a side hug. "Thanks Hermione!"

"No problem, let's go." She grabbed my arm and took me outside. We nearly bumped into Lavender and Parvati. Surprisingly, they weren't wearing dresses with any sort of glitter or hot pink. They actually looked quite nice. Lavender squealed at the sight of us and I resisted the urge to cover my ears.

"Hi girls, you both look _gorgeous_," Lavender chirped. Parvati looked at Hermione in awe. I couldn't blame her, the girl looked stunning.

"You look amazing, Hermione," she complimented her. Hermione smiled warmly at the dark-haired girl.

"Thank you, so do you."

"Did Harry really ask you out, Ginny?" Lavender questioned.

"Well, he asked me to the ball," I said uncomfortably. She beamed at me dreamily.

"You lucky girl. What about you, Hermione?"

"What about me?" she said slyly.

"Who's your date?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Hermione smirked. I grabbed her arm and tried pulling her down the stairs.

"Wait, you can't just go like that!" Lavender cried. Parvati nodded seriously and I looked at them, confused.

"Huh?" Hermione echoed my thoughts.

"Haven't you practiced your entrance?"

"Our...entrance. What about it?"

"You can't just run down the stairs, you need to look graceful as you walk down."

"Ummm...all right. Why don't you go down first then?" Hermione suggested.

"Of course. Have fun, girls," Lavender patted my shoulder and positioned herself at the top of the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she fixed her expression into a relaxed smile and began her procession down the stairs. She spotted her date and clung onto his arm, winking at us as she walked out with him. Parvati chuckled lightly.

"You don't have to make such a big deal out of it, but Lav's right, you can't just traipse down the stairs," she said thoughtfully, and walked down gently towards Ron.

"How many ways are there of walking down some steps?" I asked Hermione, bewildered. She shook her head.

"I'll just copy Parvati instead of prancing around like Lavender. Come on, let's go down together." She dragged me to the steps and descended lightly. Viktor Krum was waiting for her at the bottom. He smiled at her and she beamed sweetly. I grinned and shook my head at her.

_This girl, not even trying and looking like an actual angel…_

I saw Ron looking outraged at the sight of Hermione with Krum and cackled internally.

_I hope you've learned your lesson, Ronniekins_, I thought to myself gleefully.

That's when I spotted Harry. Dressed in a dark, bottle green suit, he was attracting the attention of various girls that fluttered around him, batting their eyelashes and giggling shamelessly, but he was only looking at me as he smiled.

"You can't be that good-looking," I joked as I eyed the girls still flocking around him disgustedly. He laughed.

"Try telling them that. You look great, Ginny." I smiled slightly as we walked out.

"Thanks, so do you."

"You ready to dance in front of the whole school?"

"Honestly, not at all. I can't dance very well," I admitted. Harry grinned.

"Neither can I. Now we can make fools of ourselves in front of everyone, how does that sound?"

"Perfect," I laughed.

**Short, I know, but just a little tidbit to let y'all know that I'm still alive. I'll update soon now that I have some ideas! Thanks to the person who gave me some fresh suggestions.** **I hope you've liked this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I ACTUALLY UPDATED IN LESS THAN A WEEK ARE Y'ALL PROUD?!**

The champions and their dates had to enter in some sort of procession, so Harry and I entered the room through the massive doors at the front with Hermione and Krum in front of us. All eyes were on us. I smirked when I saw Draco Malfoy gawking at Hermione and Pansy Parkinson trying to get his attention desperately.

We positioned ourselves at the center of the room and Harry awkwardly put a hand around my waist. I grinned at him teasingly and he rolled his eyes. The music started and we tried our best to mimic the way the others were dancing, probably looking like a pair of lost idiots. I stepped on his toe accidentally.

"Ow, Gin, be careful," he muttered.

"What a baby," I smirked. "Damn, I hope this is over soon."

"You don't have a right to complain," Harry grumbled.

"Oh yeah? When you're shuffling your feet around so it looks like we're trying to wrestle instead of dance?"

"Well, you're not doing any better," he pointed out. I laughed.

"True." We spent the rest of the dance teasing each other and laughing while half of the girls in the room glared at me, probably wondering how someone as awkward as me ended up being asked to the dance by Harry Potter.

Dinner was finally announced after a while.

"I'm starving, let's eat." I dragged Harry to a table near Hermione and Krum, who were immersed in a conversation. Hermione glanced at me and smiled. We sat down and grabbed the menus.

"Goulash…" I murmured quietly, inspecting the options. I jumped when the dish appeared in front of me.

"Wait, what? No! I wanted a steak and kidney pie!"

"Too bad," laughed Harry, who had the pie I wanted on his plate. I made my best puppy eyes.

"Please, can we switch dishes?"

"Nope." He took a bite of the pie, chewing slowly. My mouth watered.

"That's not very nice." I pouted at him. He rolled his eyes.

"My feet are all blistered, I'm just getting my revenge." I glared at him. He had chosen the pie just to infuriate me, I knew it.

"Jerk." I heard him chuckle and he pushed his pie toward me. I immediately gave him a wide smile and handed him my goulash.

"Thanks!" I looked around as I chewed. Hermione was laughing at something Krum said while Ron glared at them from his seat. Parvati had left him a while ago and looked like she was having the time of her life with her sister and two guys from Beauxbatons. Fleur's date was staring at her like she was the only person in the universe. I wanted to put a cup below his mouth so he wouldn't drool. And Cedric...wasn't with Cho?

I looked around the room for her and spotted her. Her glossy, wavy black hair swayed behind her back as she sipped from her cup quietly, observing everyone around her. I had to admit, she looked quite beautiful, with her smooth porcelain skin, peach-colored lips, and doll-like eyes. I'd always been a little jealous of her since she captured Harry's attention so easily. But today she looked sad, or nostalgic for some reason. I felt the urge to go talk to her.

"Harry," I murmured. "I'll be right back." He nodded curiously and I walked over to Cho.

"Hey," I said. She looked up with wide eyes.

"Hello. Ginny, right?"

"Um, yeah. I just came to- well, you looked a little down, so I was wondering if you were all right." She frowned gently.

"Sorry, you don't have to tell me." Not sure why I even went to talk to her, I started to walk away.

"No, it's all right. The truth is...Cedric broke up with me." She motioned to the boy who was sitting with his friends.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Guys can be jerks sometimes," I offered. She shook her head.

"He isn't a jerk. He was worried that something would happen to him during the tournament. I just…we fought a little over it and he said it would be better if he left me alone." Her eyes glistened with tears and she blinked rapidly.

"I-"

"It's fine. I need to go, thanks for checking on me." She got up and rushed out of the room, graceful as always. I saw Cedric watch her sadly. I walked back to my seat, a little concerned for her. It seemed that she and Cedric had been pretty serious.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"She looked a little sad, so I don't know why but I went to comfort her." He nodded.

"Do you wanna go out to the courtyard?"

"Sure, some fresh air sounds nice." We walked out and I noticed Percy sitting at a table with Dumbledore and some other Ministry officials. What was he doing here? I stared at him as we walked by and he registered vague surprise at seeing me with Harry. I nodded coldy at him and he reciprocated. We had grown apart since last year, when he started placing the Ministry before his family.

We walked around the garden, making fun of a few couples who we ran into in the bushes. We sat on a secluded bench after a while, growing quiet.

"Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"You sure you won't sing for me?"

"Yes."

"Why not?"

I shrugged and vocalized a little to compensate.

"Was that good?"

Harry nodded, his eyes closed.

"Very." He turned to look at me and suddenly, I felt a blush creeping onto my cheeks. Why were we so close? No, the question was- why were we both moving even closer towards each other? My mind was screaming at me to move away but I kept inching closer until our faces were just millimeters apart. His eyes flicked down to my lips and my breath hitched, and he moved impossibly closer, and right when our lips were about to touch…

...a dog's familiar bark was heard and we jumped and moved as further away from each other as possible, tomato red.

A large black dog came running towards us and tugged at my dress, sounding like he was laughing at me. I glared at him, still pink in the cheeks and feeling forever humiliated.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Harry asked. Glancing around, Sirius transformed into his human form and smirked at us.

"What, are you disappointed that I interrupted your little tryst?" He ruffled Harry's hair. "Sorry, kids. It's only my duty as a godfather."

I let out a sort of strangled yell and hid my burning face in my hands. Sirius chuckled and patted my shoulder. He sighed.

"Hermione told me that you've been putting off the quest for the second task, Harry. Don't take this lightly, you need to figure the riddle out. It's not just about the tournament, it is for your safety as well."

Grumbling something about brown-haired bookworms, Harry nodded reluctantly.I looked up, gathering the little that was left of my pride.

"Sirius, you look starving. Go get him some food, Harry." He nodded and walked towards the castle.

"So, how was it?" Sirius asked me, winking.

"How was what?" I narrowed my eyes at him. He opened his mouth ot answer and I waved him off. "Actually, I'd rather you not answer that."

"Smart girl," Sirius laughed. He teased me for a while until I looked around.

"Harry's taking a while, don't you think?" Sirius nodded.

"You should go get him, I'll wait here as Snuffles."

I walked to the castle and was met with the familiar ambiance of the party. I scanned the room for Harry and, sure that I saw his messy black hair somewhere near the corner of the hall, I walked in that direction…

...only to be met with the sight of him kissing Cho Chang.

**pLoT tWiSt, huh? **

**I hope you liked it!**

**the8horcrux: yes i meant you! thanks i rlly appreciate your comments. and i did write the part about harry asking ginny to the ball, you might've missed that chapter, so you should go check it out. i am a bit busy because of online school (which sucks) but i definitely have more time than usual, so thanks for pushing me to do this. ;)**


	15. Chapter 15

**So this is one day late if I'm doing weekly updates, but I hope y'all like it. I'm torturing you a little bit more with this chapter, sorry! :)**

When I saw his hands traveling down to her waist, I decided I had seen enough. This was no accident. Strangely, I felt my face burning up and my eyes getting watery, which had nothing to do with the fact that half the crowd that wasn't staring at Harry and Cho was staring at me. Blinking back tears rapidly, I hurried to walk out of the scene and took refuge in an empty hallway.

_Are you seriously crying over that jerk? Get over it_, I told myself over and over. I sunk down to the floor, hugging my knees tightly. _Damn, I wish I had some firewhiskey so I could get hopelessly drunk and forget about this whole night._

sat there for a while, with those stupid tears streaming down my face, regretting everything I'd done in the past month. A cold breeze came in and I shivered, hugging myself tighter. Suddenly, I felt someone wrap their jacket around me. I looked up and saw Harry, and suddenly, I felt all the anger I should have felt a while ago finally reaching me.

Narrowing my eyes, I threw his jacket off my shoulders and at his face and got up, shoving past him.

"Ginny?"

I didn't answer, and kept walking.

"Ginny!"

"Forget it!" I called over my shoulder. He reached me at last.

"Gin, if you saw that thing with Cho, I'm sorry, I-"

"I couldn't care less right now, Harry. Get away from me."

"She started it, and I got-"

"You sound like a five-year old. Please go make someone else's life hell."

"Gin-"

"Will you stop calling me Gin? My name is Ginny, only the people I actually give a crap about can call me Gin."

"I didn't mean to ki-"

I laughed bitterly.

"Don't bother making these lies up, I saw enough."

"Can't you just forg-"

I turned around and slapped him across the face. Hard.

"No, I can't forget! You idiot! I can't believe I ever considered you a friend, or anything else. Leave me alone, you're wasting both my time and yours."

Leaving him there with a blank stare, I walked away quickly back towards the Great Hall. I couldn't leave Sirius waiting outside, could I? As I grabbed some food for him, I felt nothing but blind anger- not even a trace of sadness. Strangely enough, I felt a sort of satisfaction for being the one leaving Harry alone, leaving him chasing after me. Maybe it was childish, but at least I had an excuse.

I traipsed outside with the bag I had conjured full of food and saw Sirius waiting in the same bush. I handed him the bag and muttered something about having to talk to Ron. Nearly running away, I bumped into Harry and made sure to shove him away with my elbow. I heard him talking quietly to Sirius and made my way up to the castle once again.

I debated whether to take the whole evening as a failure and go up to my dorm to stuff my face with candy or stay down and find someone else to spend the time with and decided to go for the second choice.

_Maybe I will get hopelessly drunk_, I thought as I searched the crowd for someone decent to spend the night with. I finally spotted Dean Thomas alone at a table and decided to go for it. He was nice enough and we had talked a little before when we met in the hallways. I walked up to him and smiled warmly.

"Hey, do you wanna dance?"

**...**

"Ginny?" I felt someone shake my shoulders and opened my eyes slowly to see a frantic Hermione.

"Mmmm?"

"Tell me what happened last night?"

"No. Let me sleep." I burrowed deeper into the covers. "And stop talking so loud…I have a headache."

A sudden light blinded me when she opened the curtains and I groaned, shutting my eyes tighter.

"Stop!"

"Did I spend so much time getting you ready for you to get drunk? How did you even- I'm going to go get a hangover potion."

_Drunk?_ I vaguely remembered some dancing- a lot- with some guy and…a bottle of firewhiskey?

_Ugh. Aren't my brothers the ones supposed to protect me from underage drinking?_

I sat up. It felt as if the whole world were spinning, but my vision gradually stabilized. However, my stupid headache stuck. And sadly, I still remembered the whole incident from the day before. After an eternity, Hermione came back and handed me a small bottle and a glass of water. I gulped both down and felt the headache decrease and the blinding light sting less.

"Did I really-"

"Yes," she snapped. "I'm honestly disappointed in you, Ginny, I thought you'd have more sense than to-"

"I was upset. I'm sorry."

Hermione pursed her lips and I sighed.

"I won't do it again?"

She cracked a smile and gave me a side-hug.

"You'd better not, Ginevra Weasley. Get dressed and we'll go get breakfast. Away from Ron."

"And Harry," I added. Hermione looked at me questioningly.

"I'll explain later." She nodded. I finished dressing and we walked down to the commons, only to be stopped by a grinning Dean Thomas.

"Hey Gin, feeling better?" He pulled me in for a hug and I stood there stiffly, eyes wide.

_What the hell is happening? I've only talked to you two times, you weirdo._

"Um…"

"I had to carry you here, you were giggling and tripping around."

"I-"

"Anyways, I'm glad you went up to me, I'd never had had the courage to ask you later on if you hadn't."

"Ask me what?" He chuckled.

"To be my girlfriend, silly. I can't sit with you at breakfast today though, sorry. I'll see you at lunch!"

Kissing my forehead, he walked away with friends. Stiff as stone, I exchanged shocked glances with Hermione, who had her mouth wide open.

_How on earth had I managed to land myself in a relationship with Dean Thomas?_

**_the8horcrux: heheheh plot twist! again! sorry about the whole mess with the chapters, i'm honestly confused too ahaha. i will explain the harry and cho thing later, though!_**

**_ : :(? No, don't be sad! I'll try to make you happy next chapter, I promise! _**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here it is, folks. Enjoy!**

I shoved toast into my mouth to evade answering Hermione's constant questions.

"Did you talk to him before last night?"

I chewed thoughtfully.

"I bumped into him once. Literally. I think I broke one of his quills, so I tried to help him. He was really nice about it."

"So how are you gonna break up with him?"

"I'm not."

Hermione choked on her coffee.

"Did I hear that right?"

I nodded and she clenched her jaw.

"Does this have anything to do with the way Harry's looking at you right now?"

I glanced sideways and there he was, looking like a lost puppy. I ignored him and sighed.

"It's time I move on from him. Not even my type," I mumbled. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"And Dean is? Please, Ginny, just tell me what happened last night."

"We almost kissed-"

She squealed.

"Hold it. Five minutes later I caught him snogging Cho Chang."

Hermione's face turned from ecstatic to incredulous in a millisecond.

"That...doesn't seem like something he would do."

I shrugged.

"Well, he did."

"And then?"

"I might've slapped him."

Hermione gave me a look.

"Look Ginny, Harry's been my best friend for years now. This simply isn't something he'd do. If he wanted to snog Cho he wouldn't have gotten so close to you before. He's just not like that."

"That's what I thought," I muttered, gulping down some orange juice.

"Don't you think he deserves a chance to explain why he did what he did?"

"Hermione, you sound like my mother. He does not deserve any more chances. I'm moving on, okay?"

"Think of everything he's done for you…"

"And everything he's done against me."

She glared at me and got up to sit next to Harry.

"Enjoy your new relationship with Dean, then," she snapped.

"Oh, I will!" I called over my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm ready to have the time of my life."

**...**

By that very afternoon, I wanted to kill myself. Or preferably, kill Dean Thomas.

"Dean, you don't have to move the bloody chair for me, I'm perfectly capable of-."

"Yeah, I do." Smiling, he pushed back the chair and forced me into it.

"How gentlemany of you," I drawled bitterly. He winked at me and I felt like stabbing him.

_Who knew having a boyfriend means you can't walk anywhere alone? _I thought depressedly as I remembered the way he had carried me down those stairs. The only good part of the day was seeing Harry's face as Dean helped me into my seat at the dining hall. I never thought I'd turn out to be _that_ girl, but I was. And apart from the constant tug on my conscience, I didn't mind making him jealous.

_Serves him right_, I thought as he entered the commons with Hermione at his side. A flash of anger entered me and I turned to Dean, a saccharine smile plastered on my face.

"Dean, kiss me."

_Did I really just say that?_ I thought as he chuckled and pressed his lips upon mine. I felt like vomiting, both from my actions and the sloppy, wet kiss. After a while, I pulled away and glanced at the spot where Harry was standing before. He was no longer there. Instead, Hermione was there, sending me a sour look as she walked up the stairs to her dorm.

I stayed there with Dean and Seamus for a while, pretending to listen to their conversation and acting like I cared. Soon, I heard the clock chime twelve.

"Gin, I'm going up with Seamus. Are you okay here?"

I nodded and smiled fakely.

"Yeah, you go ahead and get some sleep. I'll just stay up here a little while."

The commons were otherwise empty.

Kissing me again, he walked away with Seamus. I made a face and wiped my mouth with my sleeve once they were upstairs. I was thinking deeply when I heard a voice come out of nowhere.

"Are you really that angry at him?"

I jumped and nearly shrieked from surprise. I turned to the fireplace and saw Sirius's face in the flames. Sitting back down, I evaded his hard gaze.

"What are you talking about?"

He smirked.

"Are you really mad enough at my godson to endure disgusting kisses from that bloke?"

I huffed.

"I'm not mad at him. And how did you know I'd be here?"

"I didn't, I'm waiting for Harry."

I groaned.

"I need to go. See you, and be careful."

"Let him explain, Ginny. You know he deserves a chance."

"Explain what?"

"I can't tell you that. But he never meant to hurt you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said obstinately, getting up from the couch. I ignored the way he called me back and plopped onto my bed upstairs.

_How have I become someone else so quickly?_

_t_**_he8horcrux: bahaha i can't them break up yet, i'm sorry lol. i'm glad you liked it!_**

**_dianaanne: LMAO i cackled at this! ikr!_**


	17. Chapter 17

**argh, online school sucks. i'm reposting this chapter, thank you to the person who pointed it out!**

I twirled my wand around in my fingers idly as I stared blankly at the blackboard while McGonagall gave us the first lecture of the year. I was about to doze off when Luna Lovegood nudged my shoulder. I looked at her questioningly.

"What's with the nargles?" she asked curiously.

"The...nargles?"

"On your eyelashes. They're completely covering them."

I frowned.

"You mean...mascara?"

"No, nargles. You look different."

I sighed.

"I know."

Since Hermione refused to talk to me, Harry couldn't even look me in the eye, and Ron was tired of all the drama, I had started sitting with Dean and his friends during meals and in the common room, even after we broke up and remained friends. I eventually realized it was better to fit in with them so I started caring more for my appearance. I hadn't turned into one of those stuck-up girls who only gossiped with her friends but I definitely looked different, even if I was the same Ginny from last year.

Yeah, that's right. It had been more than nine months since the Yule Ball, and I was starting my first lessons of my fourth year at Hogwarts. If you're wondering about Harry...I forgave him a long time ago, when I heard that Cho had flung herself on him and he was trying to push her away. But it was too late since we had already grown apart. At the end of last school year, I wanted to help him get through the last task more than anything, but I didn't really know what to say to him. I offered him a pat on the back after Cedric's death even though I desperately wanted to say so much more to him. He stayed with us late in summer break and during the Ministry fiasco I wanted to make him laugh with my bad jokes just to comfort him. But as always, I settled for an awkward smile. We'd drifted apart too much, for too long. Even though I missed him, I wasn't planning on approaching him.

I looked at the clock ticking behind McGonagall. Two more minutes until freedom…

After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang and I immediately ran out of the classroom, not caring that McGonagall hadn't finished speaking.

_Probably getting detention later. Oh well._

I planned to go to the kitchens, where only the cute house elves would bother me. I pushed through the sea of students exiting the students and managed to find my way there. Making sure nobody was around, I tickled the pear and went in.

Apparently, luck was not on my side that day, because Harry was already sitting there with his back to me. I was about to back out but hesitated.

_Maybe I could talk to him..._

I cleared my throat and his head whipped around.

"Hey," I mumbled, sitting across from him at the table. He nodded at me, his face betraying no emotion after the initial surprise.

"How are...things?" I asked lamely after a minute of uncomfortable silence, drumming my fingers on the table.

"Erm...normal, I guess."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Normal as in living the life of a teenage wizard or normal as in getting into life-threatening situations at least once a day?"

Harry chuckled.

"Somewhere in the middle." He tilted his head. "You look different."

I shrugged.

"I really haven't changed."

He nodded.

"I know what you mean." He finally looked at me. "It scares me, how even after everything with...Cedric and the Ministry and the dementors and all, I'm still the same."

"It shouldn't scare you, Harry," I murmured. "It's good. You're not easily swayed."

He held my gaze for a few more seconds and then he looked away. There was a pause.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I really am. I should've been there with you through all last year, and summer break. I guess I've been kind of selfish."

He smiled softly.

"I've missed you, Gin."

I looked up at him.

"I've missed you too."

"How's Dean?" Harry cleared his throat.

"Dean? We broke up last year before summer break."

"Oh…"

"How's Susan?"

Harry had been dating Susan Bones since the end of last year- it had been and still was the talk of the whole school. I didn't mind. Harry and I were better off as friends.

"She's good." He looked uncomfortable.

"And Ron and Hermione? I haven't spoken to them."

"Not even Ron?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Nope."

"They're also fine. You should spend more time with us," he mumbled.

"I want things to be back to the way they were," I admitted, smiling softly. "Let's take things slowly. How about I sit with you three tomorrow at lunch?"

Harry nodded.

"I miss my favorite Weasley. Ron's good at Quidditch, but nobody beats you," he grinned and I laughed.

"Alright."

We shook hands.

**stay safe guys! love y'all**


	18. Chapter 18

"Sorry guys, but tell Jisoo and Jennie I think I'll sit with some other friends for today."

Lisa and Rosie nodded at me and walked out of the commons to join Dean and the others. I looked at Hermione, who I had finally talked to the night before.

"Let's go."

We walked out of the common room together.

"So what's Susan like?"

Hermione looked ahead blankly.

"She's a sweet girl. Quiet and reasonable. Always agreeing with Harry. The epitome of a good, dependent girlfriend." She glanced at me mischievously. "Personally, I think the fiery, volatile type is much better for Harry, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Forget it, Hermione."

"Why not?" she pleaded with her big eyes.

"Harry and I are just starting to pick up the few fragments that were left of our friendship. I'm not ruining it because of some old crush. It's all in the past, we've continuously proved that anytime we try to cross that line by even a centimeter, it all goes down."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, amused.

"You done with your little speech? Ginny, believe me when I tell you that you and Harry are perfect for each other."

"More like a recipe for disaster. Besides, he's dating Susan."

"So what? It's not like they're married or something," Hermione scoffed. I stopped and stared at her.

"Who are you and what did you do with the Hermione I knew last year?"

She giggled and dragged me into the Great Hall by the arm.

"All I'm saying is that if Harry knew that Susan isn't the one for him, he'd do the right thing with just a little push in the right direction."

"It's not happening, so don't you dare mention this in front of them." I glared at her. She waved her hand vaguely and nodded. We walked over to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, where Ron was sitting opposite Harry and Susan. Ron stopped inhaling his food for a second to stare at me in shock.

"It's time you showed your face around here," he grumbled after a pause. I scoffed and sat down next to him with Hermione.

"Nice to see you too, Ronniekins."

I turned to the couple in front of me, smiling at the girl. Perfectly poised, her golden blonde hair was pulled up into an impeccable ponytail, not a single wisp of hair falling on her flawless, unblemished face with shimmering blue eyes, slightly dusted cheeks, and pretty pink lips.

In other words, she looked like the complete opposite of me. Of course, I had been taking better care of my appearance since the end of last year, but I felt like a hag next to her with the slightly frizzy ginger hair falling down my back, freckled skin, and plain dark brown eyes. I glanced at Hermione slightly, who had a small, knowing smile gracing her lips. I cleared my throat.

"Hi, I hope I'm not intruding."

Susan smiled back at me with her impossibly pearly white teeth as she poured some orange juice for Harry. I think the brightness of her smile blinded me.

"It's not a problem. I heard you're Harry's friend from last year, you should come around more often." Even her voice was melodic, with each syllable perfectly pronounced.

"Um, yeah. Thanks. So how has everyone been?"

"Harry already got detention with the new DADA teacher," Hermione pointedly looked at her friend, who ignored her.

"Umbridge sucks," Ron pointed out bluntly as he reached across the table for a cinnamon roll. Harry nodded vehemently.

"Haven't had her yet. She does look like a toad, though. One that accidentally slipped on some unicorn's vomit," I remarked, eyeing the teacher bedecked in pink glitter.

Harry stifled a laugh and Susan frowned while Hermione looked scandalized.

"Ginny! Don't say that."

I shrugged.

"Just stating facts here."

"Anyway, who have you been sitting with all last year, little sis?" Ron took a bit out of his toast.

"Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Matthew Fennick, Jackson Wang, Lisa Manoban, Jennie Jane, Roseanne Park, and Jisoo Kim," I stated. Harry blinked.

"I only recognized two of those names."

"Are the girls nice?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, and funny too. They let me in easily, they're all super sweet."

"I'll have to meet them later."

"'Mione, you sound like my mother," Ron snickered and Harry and I joined in.

"Unless you guys are busy...what do you say to a game of Quidditch?" Harry asked enthusiastically. Ron and I grinned and nodded but Susan smiled and shook her head.

"You know I can't play."

"Me neither," Hermione said. Ron turned to her.

"But we need four players at least!"

"You don't need me making you lose."

"Yeah, c'mon, Hermione!" I urged her, smiling. She gave in.

"Fine. But don't get mad at me if whoever I'm with loses."

"You know...I could invite my friends over too, if you'd like," I mumbled. "Jisoo and Lisa are as bad as 'Mione, but Roseanne and Jennie are pretty good. If all the guys join too, we could nearly have a full team!"

"Great!" Ron high-fived me.

"I'll go ask them."

I got up and walked to the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was sitting that day (they were mostly all from different houses but always met at one table).

They all instantly agreed and I walked back happily. Susan was talking to Harry with a worried look on her face.

"...you two are completely over, right?"

Harry nodded, looking slightly annoyed. Susan gave him a peck on the cheek and got up, grabbing her book bag.

"I'll meet you at the pitch to watch the game."

Smiling softly at me, she walked away. I sat down hesitantly, glancing at Harry. If I wasn't mistaken, they were talking about me. Harry met my gaze and quickly looked down again as Hermione stared between the two of us. Ron had no idea what was happening and kept shoving his mouth with food.

_It's gonna take a while to fix this friendship_, I thought with a sigh.


	19. Chapter 19

I laughed as Jisoo attempted to throw the ball through the hoop. Even Hermione was better than her, but the good thing was that she was trying and we were all having fun. Each team had a healthy mix of bad and decent players, so nobody was upset. I was reveling in the fact that my team was winning when I looked down and saw Susan sitting on the stands, cheering Harry on. I flew down to her.

"Are you sure you don't want to play?"

She shook her head apologetically.

"I've always been scared of flying."

"Well, so is Hermione. Funny, I always expected for Harry to get a girlfriend who could play Quidditch with him."

_Wait, that sounded way better in my head._

I turned to an affronted-looking Susan.

"No offense with that, I mean...I didn't mean to say that I-"

"It's fine," she cut me off. "Can you just promise me something?"

"Anything." I tilted my head curiously.

"Whatever happens...don't go near Harry to try and take him away from me. I think…"

"Yeah?"

"He might still have feelings for you."

My eyes widened.

"I seriously doubt that, Susan. I've let him down a bunch of times. So has he. Sure, maybe we had feelings for each other in the past, but whatever that was is over now. I swear I'm not here to be anything more than Harry's friend."

"Thank you," Susan nodded with a small smile.

"No worries. As long as you two are happy, I am."

With that, I flew back up to my teammates.

"Hey, where's Harry?" Ron asked me. I shrugged.

**AHHH, this is short, but I'm experiencing a serious block of creativity right now. This is my last week of school and exams are coming up so I won't be ****doing**** daily updates like I have been doing. I won't be posting until Sunday. Oh, and I haven't updated my Wattpad stories in ages so consider yourselves lucky...jk jk I love you guys so much thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

"So you basically promised her you won't ever do anything with Harry?"

"Will you let it go?"

"Don't you realize you just made everything even worse?"

"I'm not making the same mistake twice, Hermione," I snapped as I got into bed and turned my back on her.

"Fine! If you're so scared, then do what you want."

"I'm not scared!"

I turned back to look at her. She gave me a look and got into bed herself, turning off the light on the nightstand next to her.

"I'm not scared," I repeated stubbornly. I received no response and grumbling, I turned over to try and get some sleep myself. My eyelids grew heavy and soon I was drifting off into sweet sleep...

I was at the Burrow, in our backyard. It was a beautiful summer day, bright and warm with a light breeze ruffling my hair. I was thinking of going for a swim in the small lake when I caught sight of the big apple tree in the middle of the yard. Or rather, the people underneath it. Harry was sitting underneath, laughing along with a red-headed girl. Me.

We looked happier than we had in ages. We looked like we were just normal teenagers in our own normal world. No demented, evil witches and wizards chasing after us and our friends and family. I edged closer, tempted by the image. Harry was ruffling my hair playfully as we joked around. But...why was my hair not as red as usual? And since when was it pulled up into a ponytail?

I watched, frozen in horror. My hair was slowly turning into a wavy, golden blonde. My freckles were disappearing, giving way to soft white skin. My eyes were turning a crystal blue and my cheeks acquired a soft rosey tint.

Susan was looking directly at me, a perfect creepy smile on her perfect face. Harry didn't even notice, still laughing joyously. I then felt something trail down my cheek. Touching my face, I realized tears were streaming quickly down my face. I tried wiping them away, but only more came out. Suddenly, the breeze became a rough wind which became a whirlwind in which I was the center. My vision blurred and my hair constantly whipping my face, I could barely see Harry and Susan anymore. I began having trouble breathing as the scene swirled around me.

Then I woke up, breathing heavily. I shuddered, cold sweat surrounding me.

_What in Merlin's name was that? It was creepy as hell, no doubt of that._

I got up and opened the window, feeling the cold breeze hit my face. It was barely dawn. I closed my eyes, longing for more sleep even though I knew I'd be staying up the rest of the night. Hermione's words echoed in my head.

"_If you're so scared…"_

_What is there to be scared of? Rejection?_ _Loss of friendship? Fighting?_

Shaking my head in frustration, I tip-toed out of the room and out of the commons towards the Astronomy Tower, to sing as always. I found myself running across the same stupid corridor I yelled at Harry last year. I thought I had made it without being seen when I bumped into an all too familiar figure.

Dark and daunting as always, Professor Snape stood in front of me, his dark robes billowing around him. He raised a single, terrifying eyebrow. I gulped and felt myself shrink into a pile of nerves.

"May I ask," he began. "What you are doing out here long after curfew, Miss Weasley?"

"I couldn't sleep, sir," I answered quietly, never looking away from his strong gaze even though I was completely anxious.

_Don't punish me, don't punish me, don't punish me..._

"Are you sure? Or are you perhaps out here to meet a fellow...classmate?" He uttered the word with a sort of disgust that made me nervous. Did he mean something by that? He couldn't mean that he thought Harry and I...no. Professor Snape had better things to do than keep up with the juvenile romances of his teenage students.

"No sir, of course not."

He scrutinized me silently as I refused to squirm under his judgemental stare.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor," he drawled finally. "I shall ask Professor McGonagall to set an adequate punishment for you. Go back to your dormitory, Miss Weasley."

I muttered some thanks and made my way out of that blasted corridor, hating myself for being caught and hoping McGonagall wouldn't be too harsh on me.

Little did I know, somebody had been watching the whole time from the dark corners of the corridor.


	21. Chapter 21 (not an update)

blockquote  
p style="text-align: center;"strongHey guys! I know it's been a while, nearly a month by now?! I know I tried doing weekly updates but the thing is that I have absolutely no inspiration for this story. I feel bad because so many of you support me and are so nice to me and all I do is make you wait :(/strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongAnyway, I'll keep going on this story. While I can't promise weekly updates, I won't let a whole month slide by either. I'll try to update by this Sunday./strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongThank you! Stay safe always./strong/p  
/blockquote 


	22. Chapter 22

_I, Ginny Weasley, have nothing against Harry and Susan being together._

_I really don't. I'm fine with it. Perfectly fine. I am. _

_For that reason, I am perfectly fine as I watch them do that nauseating lovey dovey couple shit in front of me. Even if Harry and I were supposed to be doing our homework together in the library until Miss Perfect came crashing in because _"Oh gosh Harry, I just missed you so much!"_._

_I'm fine, see? I'm fine seeing them exchange happy smiles. I'm fine seeing Susan peck Harry on the cheek. I'm fine seeing her sitting way too close to him and flipping her perfect non-ginger hair girlishly. I'm fine seeing him being fine with it. I'm fine even if Harry was about to help me with my schoolwork but has now completely forgotten that I exist. It's fine. I'm fine. Even if their loud whispers are distracting me. I'm perfectly fi-_

I smashed the quill against the table so hard that I _accidentally_ bent the metal tip. Yeah, accidentally. You know what else is an accident, apart from my entire existence?

The fact that I had been basically carving random words into my parchment, which had become a pile of rags.

That my last ink bottle was broken and spilling all over the place because I had smashed my fist onto the table a tad too aggressively.

The cuts on my left palm from the way I had been digging my nails into it for thirty minutes straight.

What a series of unfortunate accidents, huh? I looked up and noticed Harry and Susan were staring at me. I laughed awkwardly and got up, shoving my things into my book bag. Including the loose ink on the table.

"Oh, look at the time!" I spared a glance at the nonexistent watch on my wrist. "I've got to go...milk the cows?"

_What in Merlin's sweet name is coming out of my mouth?_

"Yeah, er...goodbye then!"

I sprinted out of the room, ignoring people's stares as the blood from my hand dripped behind me.

_Yeah, I'm definitely okay._


	23. Chapter 23

**omg hihihi**

**y'all are probably super surprised but i'm here!**

**told you consistency wasn't my thing :(**

**anyways in case anyone is still kind enough to care i will be posting short, more frequent updates! (y'all have no reason to believe me ik and i'm sorry :()**

**so ye this is short but i hope it's passable **

I was busy glaring at a spot on the table in the commons when someone plopped down beside me on the couch.

"Hey Gin."

"...Hi."

We sat in silence when he suddenly grabbed my left wrist and turned it over to inspect my hand.

"Hey!" I protested, but he had already seen the cuts. He gave me a look and set my hand gently on the couch.

"You need to wash this with soap. Do you have any bandages? Or if it hurts, you could always apply-"

"Did you blow your nose so hard that all your brain fluids fell out of your nostrils or something?" I muttered darkly, grabbing my hand back and searching for my wand as Harry blinked confusedly. I uttered a simple spell and tapped my hand with the tip of my wand so that all that was left were a few small scars.

"There. It should completely heal in a few days. As for this…"

I grabbed his wrist in turn and looked at the carved words on it, feeling nothing other than a strong loathing towards Umbridge.

"...This isn't that simple," I finished with a scowl.

"How did you-"

"Ah, Harry, you're so obvious," I said as I searched inside my bag for the bottle I had for him. "The moment any attention comes on that hand, you hide it behind your back with the same dumb look."

I found the small flask and raised it up in triumph.

"Aha!"

"What's that?"

"Something much more effective than what Hermione gave you. She only knows the textbook version, this is an enhanced method that my mum taught us when we were little. This will actually heal it little by little, the Murtlap Essence only gives a bit of relief."

He put out his hand willingly.

"Aren't you even gonna ask what it's name is?" I asked him. "What if I'm secretly poisoning you or something?"

He laughed.

"I trust you."

I covered my pink ears with my hair, trying to focus on his hand.

"Gin, what do you think of Susan?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"She's nice. Perfect, even," I gritted out as I carefully placed a bandage around his palm.

"Yeah. So what do you really think of her?"

I looked up at him. He had the audacity to smirk at me and I growled.

"If you expect me to start badmouthing her in front of you, you're very mistaken."

"So you admit you don't like her!"

I kept my mouth shut and capped the bottle, shoving it inside my book bag.. I got cut with a sharp-pointed quill sticking out and hissed.

"Bloody quills...bloody bag…"

Harry chuckled and I glared at him.

"What's your problem?"

He shrugged, and when I realized he was going to say nothing, I turned to keep insulting my quill. I felt his strong gaze on me from beside.

"Stop staring at me, you cree-"

"You're pretty," he blurted out. My eyes widened. Harry avoided my stare and scratched the back of his head. I tried to stop the blush creeping onto my cheeks and looked away.

"And you're mentally deranged."

"Thanks, Gin."

"Anytime."

**also the8horcrux ty for sticking w me and this weird story for so long i don't expect you to keep reading but just a sincere thanks, your reviews made my day for so long!**


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